Post-16 education and training for those with SEND

Supported Internships

Supported Internships are a full-time structured work-based education programme based primarily at an employer. Supported Internships help young people aged 16-24 with an Education, Health, and Care Plan to achieve paid employment. Supported Internships usually last for an academic year and have all the same college holidays.

A Supported Intern learns ‘on the job’ mostly at work and some at college. A Supported Internship could look like:

up to 4 days in the workplace doing the job.
completing real work tasks moving around in different areas/departments to develop skills and build experience.
1 day per week completing qualifications, e.g., English, maths and employability. This may be in college or in work.

The key aims of a Supported Internship is to support young people with EHC Plans to gain paid employment by: 

developing the skills valued by employers. 
developing and demonstrating value in the workplace. 
developing confidence and abilities to perform successfully at work. 
transitioning into sustained and paid employment.

The key principles of a Supported Internship are to:

follow a personalised study curriculum, including relevant aspects of English and maths. 
have a bespoke package that is delivered by the provider and should support progression to paid employment. It should give the supported intern the opportunity to reflect on their learning journey.
include job coaches who are central to the study programme and provide support to both the young person and employer. They should be trained in line with the National Occupational Standards for Supported Employment.

The primary goal of the programme for the young person is paid employment. Work placements must work for both the young person and the employer. 

For the young person, the job must fit with their vocational profile, contribute to their long-term career goal and be flexible enough to address barriers where necessary. 

For the employer, they should meet a real business need. The employer should be committed to supporting the young person towards paid employment. 

Watch this video to learn more about Supported Internships from interns themselves as well as the host business:

Watch the following videos to learn more about Supported Internships:

For more information on Supported Internships opportunities in Warwickshire, please visit our colleges websites:

For more information on support available in Warwickshire, please visit our SEND Local Offer pages and other helpful services:

For more information on Supported Internships please visit our partner agencies websites:

For more information on financial support, please visit our partner agencies websites:

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